Opinion

Legislators need to make state DNA collection more efficient

Wisconsin law enforcement officials are looking for some help from legislators to untangle an unnecessarily complicated process involving the collection of DNA samples from those arrested for a felony. They deserve that help.

So far, they have no takers. But surely, there must be a few legislators who believe in efficient government and effective law enforcement who would be willing to help. Those legislators need to step up before the spring session ends.

Starting in 2015, the state will collect DNA samples at every felony arrest, as well as upon conviction for any crime. Now, DNA is collected only from those convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors. Supporters of the change say that more than half the states in America and the federal government have expanded DNA collection efforts as a tool to fight crime.

Before passing the law last May, legislators made some changes in the original bill aimed at addressing possible constitutional challenges. That's understandable, but among the changes was one requiring that local law enforcement collecting the DNA samples hold on to them and not send them immediately to the Justice Department. The samples can't be forwarded to the state unless the arrest was made through a warrant; a court has made a finding of probable cause; or the defendant has failed to make an initial appearance in court.

The problem is that's adding an unnecessary burden for local law enforcement, as state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen argues. He's asking legislators to change the law so that the biological samples are sent directly to the state Department of Justice rather than left temporarily in the offices of the state's 72 county sheriffs and other local law enforcement agencies, where he believes bureaucratic headaches could develop. That doesn't mean they'll be tested right away; it just means they'll be in one place rather than scattered across the state.

The attorney general has strong backing from sheriffs around the state. Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is one of them. The sheriff told Journal Sentinel reporter Jason Stein that having local officials hold the samples will make it more complicated for citizens seeking to have them purged in cases such as acquittals. It also will create a new challenge for his department to keep tabs on ongoing court cases, he said.

Taylor County Sheriff Bruce Daniels agreed. Daniels, president of the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association, told Stein that implementing the law could prove difficult for sheriffs, particularly those in rural areas whose staffs are already stretched thin.

Van Hollen, Clarke and Daniels are right. As long as the law is in effect, it should be made as effective and efficient as possible.